Air conditioner for automobiles



2 SHEETSSHEET 1 James W. Bailey IN V EN TOR.

J. W. BAILEY AIR CONDITIONER FOR AUTOMOBILES March 10, 1953 Filed Sept; 15, 1949 March 10, 1953 I l w BAILEY 2,631,023

AIR CONDITIONER FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed Sept. 15, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 James m. Bailey INVENTOR.

BY (may 3% Patented Mar. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention comprises novel and useful improvements in an air conditioner for automobiles and more specifically pertains to a portable air moistening and air circulating device particularly adapted for use in automotive vehicles.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an improved air conditioning assembly having improved air moistening and humidifying means in conjunction with an improved air circulating means.

A further object of this invention is to provide an air conditioning device of the above character, wherein a single operating means is employed for simultaneously operating the air circulating means and the air moistening means in an improved and interrelated manner.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus in conformity with the foregoing objects wherein the electric motor constituting the source of power may be relieved of its function as a driving means when the device is subjected to an air blast or air stream of sufficient strength to operate the fan and thereby drive the humidifying means.

These, together with various ancillary features and objects of the invention which will later become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by the present device. a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated by way of example only in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the invention, the view being taken from the air inlet end of the same;

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view through the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken substantially upon the plane of the section line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a further vert cal transverse sectional detail view taken substantially upon the plane of the section line 44 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a vertical longitudinal sectional detail view upon an enlarged scale taken substantially upon the plane of the section 5-5 of Figure 2.

Referring now more specifically to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designate similar parts throughout the several views, it will be seen that the numeral l0 indicates generally the unitary air conditioning apparatus and which includes a front or inlet end casing 12 and a rear casing M to each of which is detachably secured a central casing member l6 removably secured thereto as by bolts l8, and provided with an air discharge conduit 20 which may be conveniently provided upon its upper surface and may extend laterally therefrom.

As will be readily understood, any suitable damper or other air control means may be provided for controlling the discharge from the outlet conduit 20, but since the construction of the same is well known and forms no part of the present invention, it has not been deemed necessary to illustrate the same.

Referring now to the air inlet casing l2 it will be seen that the same includes flanged extremities 22 and 24 at its front and rear ends, the central casing member being secured to the flange 24, while the flange 22 is embraced by a complementary encircling flange 26 which forms the periphery of a frusto-conica1 funnel shaped and inwardly extending member 28. This latter member extends centrally of the forward casing I2, and terminates in a cylindrical inwardly extending sleeve 30. The inner end of this sleeve is provided with diametrically opposed longitudinally extending slots 32 extending from its inner end, for a purpose which will later be set forth.

Received in the interior of the front casing member l2, and disposed slightly inwardly of the annular flange 34 joining the flange 24 to the casing I2, is a partition 36 suitably contoured to fit the interior of the casing l2, and having a hollow central portion cut-away to register with the opening in the sleeve 30, this central portion having a diametrically dis osed crossbar 38 adapted to seat in the slots 32 and to be securely and rigidly held therein as by means of bolts 40 which are secured to apertured lugs 42 carried by the interior walls of the frusto-conical member 28, and extending through the partition 36 and secured thereto by fastening nuts 44. It will thus be seen that the front end assembly may be thus assembled as a unit with a central axial inlet opening formed by the sleeve 30 for the inlet of air into the interior of the device through the funnel shaped inlet opening 28.

The rear casing section 14 is preferably closed at its rear end, and in its forward end is likewise provided with a forwardly extending annular flange 46 to which the rear end of the casing member I6 is secured by the above mentioned fastening bolts l8, and a partition 48 is secured to the front end of the casing M as shown in Figure 2. A suitable supporting bracketit which may consist of a U-shaped member is detachably secured by fastening bolts 52 to the rearward surface of the partition 48, and supports on its rearward wall as by fastening bolts 53, in a detachable manner, an electric motor 54 which may be supplied with electric current of any suitable source such as the 6 volt storage battery of an automotive vehicle, by means of a suitable electric circuit including the electric conducting cables 56 passing through the casing wall as by means of grommets 58.

Extending inwardly through a suitable aperture in the bracket 50, is the armature shaft 66 of the electric motor 54, to which is attached any suitable connector 62 in the form of a sleeve or the like and which constitutes a hub having a driving pulley 64 thereon. This pulley through a belt drive 66 is connected with a similar pulley 68 carried by a shaft Ill which extends into and is mounted in a reduction gearing casing indicated generally by the numeral I2 and of any conventional construction. This casing is journalled in a boss I6 formed in the wall of the partition 48, the output shaft 14 of the reduction gear casing I2 being provided with a driven pulley 18.

A drive shaft in the form of a rod St is disposed centrally of the sleeve 30 and extends through suitable aligned apertures in the crossbar 38 and partition 48, bein journalled in suitable antifriction bearings 82 and 84. disposed on the forward and rearward sides of the crossbar 38 and partition 48 respectively. At its forward end, this driving shaft or rod 85 has fixedly secured thereto a fan 86 of any suitable construction adapted to fit snugly within the confines of the cylindrical member 30 for rotation therein. At its rear end the rod or shaft 89 is received in and connected to the hub or connecting member 62 previously described. It will thus be seen that the shaft 80 and consequently the fan 86 are directly driven by the motor 54 and at the speed of rotation of the motor. The shaft 80 is journalled for rotation in a stationary surrounding tubular shaft 88 which is rigidly connected to a pair of sleeve members 90 and 92 at the forward and rearward ends respectively, these members abutting and being secured to the rearward and forward surfaces respectively of the crossbar 38 and partition 48. Plates 98 and I (it (ends of drum) are rotatably journalled upon the outside of sleeve collars 90 and 92. A pulley 94 is connected to plate I by means of two bushings 95 which space the pulley from the plate, both running freely on the sleeve collar 92. The pulley 94 is connected as by a belt 96 with the previously mentioned pulley I8, whereby the drum is rotated by the motor 54 but at a reduced speed with respect thereto.

It may be here noted that any desired speed ratio may be employed, but in the present invention it is preferred to employ a ratio in the neighborhood of 250 to 1, so that the drumwill make one revolution for each 250 revolutions of the rod or shaft 80. The forward plate 98 has an opening registering with the opening in the partition 36 and with the passage through the sleeve 30, while the latter plate Hill is imperforate or closed. These plates are rotatably attached to the sleeves 90 and 92, and therefore rotate upon the axis of the sleeve 88.

A pair of cylindrical reticulated or foraminou's screen members I02 and IE4 are disposed in concentric fashion and rigidly attached to the front and rear plates 98 and IE5, and a lining I06 of any suitable pervious material for absorbing and permitting the passage of water therethrough is 4 interposed between the screens I 02 and I M, as indicated at I06.

The plates 98 and I00 are provided with radial extensions or arms I08 and III), see Figure 3, which are disposed diametrically with respect to each other. Obviously, an desired number of these diametrical pairs of arms or extensions may be provided, two being illustrated for the sake of convenience in Figures 2 and 3.

The outer extremities of these arms conveniently terminate in enlarged portions H2, and these arms are provided with longitudinally extending slots I I4 and I I 6 which are inclined with respect to the center line of the radial arms. These slots are employed to movably support a plurality of dippers for moistening the member I06.

As will be now apparent from Figures 2 and 3, longitudinally extending dippers I I8 are provided with axially extending trunnions I20 which are slidably received in the slots H4 and N5 of the plate members 98 and IE0. These clippers are preferably pear shaped in cross section, as shown in Figure 3, and consists of hollow tubular members which preferably have closed end walls and have longitudinally extending slot or slots extending throughout substantially the full length of each member, the members and their slots being disposed in parallel relation to the axes of the shafts and 88 and consequently to the axis of rotation of the cylindrical member consisting of the screens I02, I04 and the lining IE6.

These slots I22 are disposed at what may be termed the sides of the clippers, as shown in Figure 3 while a series of longitudinally spaced orifices I24 extend radially inwardly from the inner or pointed edge of the dipper, these orifices being formed by perforated outwardly flaring portions of the material of the dipper.

Detachably received in the bottom of the casing I6 and between the crossbar 38 and partition 48, and attached thereto in any suitable manner, is a removable tank I26, see Figure 3, the side walls of this tank having their upper extremities inwardly flaring as at I28, and having suitable antisurge and antisplash bafiies I32 therein. This tank is intended to be filled with water, and the same may be removed and replaced from time to time by removing a portion or all of the casing cover I6 as desired.

The tank and water level are so disposed that as shown in Figure 3 the clippers will be immersed during rotation of the cylindrical member, whereby by means of the longitudinal slots I22 the interior of the clippers will be filled with water, this water being retained within the dipper until the same is rotated to its uppermost position, at which time the dipper will be inverted as shown in Figure 3. In this inverted position, the water in the dipper will be permitted to spray or trickle therefrom and will be diffused over the uppermost surface of the rotating cylindrical member, whereby the inner and outer screens and the layer 36 therebetween will be thoroughly moistened.

It should be here noted that during this movement as soon as the dipper passes its mid portion on its way downward, the weight of the same will cause the dipper to travel to the radially outward portion of the groove IIB as shown in Figure 3, so that the dipper will be at its lowermost position, and may attain a considerable lower position than would be possible if the dipper were fixed with respect to the supporting arms 38 and H0.

However, its uppermost position, the dipper will move by the influence of gravity to the inward position in its slot, as shown in the top of Figure 3, and this abrupt downward movement of the dipper, arrested by the lower end of the slot, will cause a shaking action which will assist in discharging the contents of the dipper upon the upper surface of the rotating cylinder.

As so far described, it will be seen that the fan 85 is rotated in synchronized relation with respect to the rotation of the cylindrical member, by means of a common power source 54, the fan rotates 250 times as fast as the cylindrical moistening device. The air thus drawn inwardly from the funnel 28, through the sleeve 30 and into the interior of the cylindrical member I02, and find its escape only radially outwardly through the cylindrical walls I02, I04 and I of the rotating cylindrical member. This air passing through the porous layer I 06 will pick up moisture therefrom, and be thoroughly moistened and conditioned, and will then find its escape under the pressure of the fan through the air discharge conduit 20. This air may be conducted to any suitable place for air conditionin the interior of automotive vehicles.

In addition to the foregoing however, a further mode of operation is contemplated which at times may dispense with the operation of the motor 54.

For this purpose, the front casing I2 is provided with a housing I32 consisting of side walls and a top, the front and rear of this housing being open as indicated in Figure 5. By means of a vertically extending pivot pin I33, disposed adjacent one of the side Walls of the housing, a transversely extending vane I34 is pivoted for movement about a vertical axis, under the influence of the air stream which may be passing through the housing I32.

The opposite wall of the housing may con veniently be provided with a bracket I35 forming a stop member for limiting the forward pivoting movement of the vane I 3 Mounted in any convenient manner in the housing, is a stationary rheostat switch contact I38 of any suitable and conventional design, and a resilient movable contact I 40 is rigidly attached to the end of the vane I34 for oscillating movement over the contact I38. By means of a spring I 42, secured to the contact I40 into a stationary lug I44 carried by the casing I32, the vane is urged to its closed position which corresponds to the full current position of the electric motor 54. Under the influence of the air stream, the vane I34 is opened to varying positions against the opposition of spring I42, and this opening movement causes a traversal of the fixed contact I 38 by the flexible switch element I40, thereby varying the resistance in the circuit of the electric motor 54, to which the device is connected as by conductors I48 and I48. It will thus be seen that in some conditions of operation, when the air stream is sufficiently great, the vane I34 will completely cut off flow of current through the electric motor, and the rotating fan 88, will through the associated gearing 94, 96, I8, 68, 6B, 64 operate the tubular shaft 88 and consequently the rotating cylindrical air conditioner. The electrical current in the vehicle battery is thus saved during these conditions of operation.

Of course, in the latter use of the invention, it is contemplated that the air conditioning unit will be mounted in such a manner, as for example upon the exterior of a vehicle, or in line with air ducts built into the front of the automobile for conducting air into the inside, whereby the same will be subjected to the air flow created by the progress of the vehicle.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily appear to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the foregoing specification and accompanying drawings, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described. Accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An air conditioner comprising a water tank and a cylindrical drum mounted for rotation upon its central axis above said tank, said drum having a hollow interior and a permeable wall, means for blowing air into said interior and educting the same through said wall, dippers carried by said drum for immersion in said tank and for discharging water upon the top of said drum during rotation and means for rotating said drum, said clippers comprising elongated hollow members on opposite sides of said drum, means for supporting said dippers radially outwardly of said drum, said last means comprising radially extending plates on said drum, said plates having outwardly extending slots, said members being mounted for sliding movement in said slots.

2. An air conditioner comprising a water tank and a cylindrical drum mounted for rotation upon its central axis above said tank, said drum having a hollow interior and a permeable wall, means for blowing air into said interior and educting the same through said wall, clippers carried by said drum for immersion in said tank and for dischargin water upon the top of said drum during rotation and means for rotating said drum, said dippers comprising elongated hollow members on opposite sides of said drum, means for supporting said dippers radially outwardly of said drum, said last means comprising radially extending plates on said drum, said plates having outwardly extending slots, said members being mounted for slidin movement in said slots, said clippers having water dispensing orifices adjacent said drum and water inlet means in said dippers.

JAMES W. BAILEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 461,102 Schmidt Oct. 27, 1891 1,990,753 Rapp Feb. 12, 1935 2,230,020 Webster Jan. 28, 1941 2,267,713 Bock Dec. 30, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 211,409 Great Britain Feb. 21, 1924 

